Ashley and Stetson Allen's lives center around their 14-month-old son, Jackson. Careful decisions and the willingness to compromise have put them on a track to career advancement and financial security. But it hasn't been a straight or smooth path.

Kristin Ayer, 18, will be “almost the first” in her family to get a college degree. She wants to become a wedding planner because weddings are supposedly the happiest days in people's lives, and she wants to be a part of that.